Freelance Equine - Trick Training and Horsemanship

21/12/2024

These two are very different breeds, one cob and the other Lusitano, but their way of going is surprisingly similar. Consistency in training posture, strength and balance, can help develop a forward, smooth way of going. Everyone has their own style of training, and it generally shows in each horse.

21/12/2024

Today's obstacle course at Shuttleworth College Equine

Next one February

Www.bookwhen.com/freelanceequinetraining

20/12/2024

🐴Behaviour is just communication 🐴

That word "naughty" is one we’ve all likely used, but horses don’t actually misbehave on purpose. Their actions are just feedback, showing how easy or hard they’re experiencing something in that moment.

When a horse is labelled with a vice or problem, they’re generally not trying to be difficult on purpose. Something’s missing to them: physical comfort, emotional safety, relaxation, clear communication, understanding or consistency. They might be in pain, confused, scared, stressed, or frustrated. Horses react based on how they feel, not to “test” or annoy us—even if it can feel that way some days.

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to an issue. Each horse is different, and their behavior must be looked at in context. This is why online advice can be dangerous —you need to assess the horse and situation as a whole, in person. One piece of advice which worked for one person, could be absolutely the wrong advice for another.

For example, a horse refusing to load might be reacting to a variety of things - past trauma, pain, feeling unsafe, or daily stress causing trigger stacking, affecting their ability to cope in that situation.
If pain is the cause, training can worsen the problem. If it’s stress or trauma induced, then their nervous system needs regulation and relaxation work first—often alongside relevant bodywork to help release tension patterns. Without identifying the cause, short-term fixes risk escalating the behavior.

Start with asking: “Why is this happening?” when faced with any issues, before just addressing the visual behavior.
Is your horse uncomfortable, scared, or confused? Do they need more turnout, more movement (they can be out and still not get enough movement if the set up is wrong), companionship, a diet change, or just simpler, clearer training? Sometimes small tweaks to their routine can make a huge difference.

When we stop seeing horses as “naughty” and see the behavior as nothing more than communication, we should feel motivated to help figure it out —even if it takes time or thinking outside of the box.

18/12/2024

🎄🎁 Looking for a perfect easy Christmas gift?🎁🎄

Treat them to a Gift Voucher from us!

These vouchers can be used for:
🐴 Clinics
🏕️ Camps
🎤 Demos
🎓 Lessons (weekdays, local only)

Whether they want to just learn fun tricks, improve their horsemanship skills, or just enjoy building a relationship with their horse, it's a gift they’ll appreciate, especially if regulars to us —and vouchers have no expiry date!

🎁 Choose your amount and grab your voucher through here ⬇️
https://bookwhen.com/freelanceequinetraining =ev-sphm-20250501000000

(Ignore the date, it just needs a date on bookwhen to be able to purchase through. Vouchers have no date restriction and will be emailed for you to print out)

If you want your partner or friend to have a hint at a good stocking filler.....tag away below or share!

13/12/2024

Liberty work can be a beautiful form of showing connection and communication.

Without any tack, ropes, sticks or other equipment, the horse has their own choice to engage with you, and their responses become an honest reflection of their comfort, curiousity, and feelings in the work we ask. Playing at liberty is not just about training, it’s not about control—it’s about creating a relationship based on understanding and both wanting the same thing; to feel good.

Liberty work can teach us to pay attention to the smallest feedback: the flick of an ear, a shift in energy, or the rhythm of their movement...and likewise, can teach them to look for the same equivalent of subtle cues from us too.

For those who incorporate liberty work in their routine, what have you found that it has taught you about your horse, or yourself? 🐴

(Private sessions can be found at some clinics or locally.
Www.bookwhen.com/freelanceequinetraining )

13/12/2024

🐴Our Services!🐴
Want a confident, happy horse? Learning to listen through groundwork can help solve a lot of common issues, or simply just help build the relationship you want with your horse.

Here’s how we can work together:

1️⃣ Public Clinics
Obstacle courses for confidence-building, young horse sessions, trick training, and private sessions—we’ve got you covered!
➡️ Book here www.bookwhen.com/freelanceequinetraining

2️⃣ Private Weekday Clinics at Your Yard
Want to host your own clinic with some friends? We can come to you with a full course of obstacles, trick training, or a combination of both, for hour groups of up to 4 people (cost split between participants).
-Area 1: £100 per hour group
-Area 2: £120 per hour group
-Area 3: £160 per hour group
📍 If you’re further away or need a weekend clinic, just drop me a message with your postcode for a quote!

3️⃣ Private Weekday Lessons
Work on groundwork, trick training, problem-solving/softness, confidence/relationship building, tackling 3 obstacles, balance boards or general riding confidence in a 40-minute private session at your yard.
💷Prices:
-Area 1: £45 (+ £5 travel outside of the white circle)
-Area 2: £45 (+ £10 travel)
-Area 3: £45 (+ £15 travel)
💡 Book 2+ people at the same yard to save on travel costs!

4️⃣ Demos with My Own Horses
Looking for inspiration? I offer demos on groundwork, trick training, building confidence, obstacles, and more. Perfect for equestrian centres, camps, pony clubs, or riding clubs!
📍 Message me with your postcode, date, and time for a quote.

💌 Want to improve your horse’s confidence and connection in you?
Message to book 😊

13/12/2024

Bam casually offering a little extra tempi change, playing around with some energy and lateral draw in the canter. It's always interesting when a horse feels good mentally and physically, what they can feel confident and strong enough to offer (though this needs awareness to know when both the physical and emotional balance are in sync to capture movement offered, and not when it's one over riding the other creating the movement)

See what you can find at liberty still, if you have a safe space to. Start small if you don't already do any liberty work.

I always say I don't teach liberty as such, because it's just been another extension of trick training and groundwork. I just like finding how they feel about work when they have the choice to engage or disengage, and test how much they still understand the work asked - it's good feedback either way.

11/12/2024

Dates and venues so far for clinics and camps 2024/2025

NEW obstacles to try.

Obstacles, trick training, combined sessions, private and young horses.

For anyone coming with a friend, booking onto other clinic dates at the same time or wanting to do more than 1 session, automatic discounts are applied at checkout - £5 off for 2 places booked together, £7.50 off for 3 places booked together, £10 off for 4+ places booked together.

Booking through

www.bookwhen.com/freelanceequinetraining

Clinics:

✴️ Wood View Farm obstacle clinic (Sudborough, East Northants) ✴️
15th December - 1 x Private session left

✴️ LT Equine Veterinary Services ✴️ (Northamptonshire)
26th January Guilsborough/LT Equine Clinic - obstacle, young horse and private sessions

✴️ Pickering Grange Equestrian ✴️
(Ellistown, Leicestershire)
22nd December - Last spaces left
19th January
22nd February
16th March
Pickering Grange clinic - obstacles, young horse, groundwork and private sessions

✴️ Truesdale Equestrian Centre ✴️
(Market Deeping, South Lincs)
30th November - FULL
11th January
2nd February
2nd March
Truesdale Equestrian - obstacles, young horse and groundwork/trick training

✴️ Shuttleworth College Equine ✴️
(Biggleswade, Bedfordshire)
21st December - Last spaces left
8th February
Shuttleworth EC obstacle, trick training and young horse sessions

✴️ Naturally Light Equitation ✴️
(Preston Capes, Daventry)
5th January (Almost full)
16th February
23rd March
Naturally Light Equitation Daventry - obstacle/spook busting, young horse and trick training clinics

Camps:

✴️CHAPs Collingham Horse Adventure Park✴️
(Newark, Notts/Lincoln border)
5-6th July Summer camp at CHAPS
20-21st September Autumn camp at CHAPS
27-28th September Autumn camp at CHAPS

✴️ Aylesford Equine / X-Country ✴️
(Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire)
Day camps - 10th May and 7th June
Spring day camp at Aylesford Equine
Weekend camps - 31May-1st June and 14-15th June
Spring Camp at Aylesford Equine
Spring Camp at Aylesford Equine

🔰 All information and booking via 🔰

www.bookwhen.com/freelanceequinetraining

Dates and venues so far for clinics and camps 2024/2025

NEW obstacles to try.

Obstacles, trick training, combined sessions, private and young horses.

For anyone coming with a friend, booking onto other clinic dates at the same time or wanting to do more than 1 session, automatic discounts are applied at checkout - £5 off for 2 places booked together, £7.50 off for 3 places booked together, £10 off for 4+ places booked together.

Booking through

www.bookwhen.com/freelanceequinetraining

Clinics:

✴️ Wood View Farm obstacle clinic (Sudborough, East Northants) ✴️
15th December - 1 x Private session left

✴️ LT Equine Veterinary Services ✴️ (Northamptonshire)
13th December Guilsborough/LT Equine Clinic - weekday private session day
26th January Guilsborough/LT Equine Clinic - obstacle, young horse and private sessions

✴️ Pickering Grange Equestrian ✴️
(Ellistown, Leicestershire)
22nd December - Last spaces left
19th January
22nd February
16th March
Pickering Grange clinic - obstacles, young horse, groundwork and private sessions

✴️ Truesdale Equestrian Centre ✴️
(Market Deeping, South Lincs)
30th November - FULL
11th January
2nd February
2nd March
Truesdale Equestrian - obstacles, young horse and groundwork/trick training

✴️ Shuttleworth College Equine ✴️
(Biggleswade, Bedfordshire)
21st December - Last spaces left
8th February
Shuttleworth EC obstacle, trick training and young horse sessions

✴️ Naturally Light Equitation ✴️
(Preston Capes, Daventry)
5th January (Almost full)
16th February
23rd March
Naturally Light Equitation Daventry - obstacle/spook busting, young horse and trick training clinics

Camps:

✴️CHAPs Collingham Horse Adventure Park✴️
(Newark, Notts/Lincoln border)
5-6th July Summer camp at CHAPS
20-21st September Autumn camp at CHAPS
27-28th September Autumn camp at CHAPS

✴️ Aylesford Equine / X-Country ✴️
(Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire)
Day camps - 10th May and 7th June
Spring day camp at Aylesford Equine
Weekend camps - 31May-1st June and 14-15th June
Spring Camp at Aylesford Equine
Spring Camp at Aylesford Equine

🔰 All information and booking via 🔰

www.bookwhen.com/freelanceequinetraining

10/12/2024

Hope your day has been just as great as Fireworks finds his Imperial Riding Volta Grooming and Relaxation Brush ....hamstrings are his favourite place so far 😅😆🦄

09/12/2024

Practising for Matt Whiteford Farrier 's footstand next trim 😅🦄